Go beyond the training manual and be innovative. This is what Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke, decorated with the Vir Chakra during the 1965 India-Pakistan War for taking on three enemy aircraft, told IAF officers on the day he had presented his medal to his squadron 50 years after he had fought over the skies of Kalaikunda in the east.“You need to know the training books, your capability and the capability of your machine backwards, but you also need to go beyond the books,” he had told them when visiting No. 14 Squadron based at Ambala in September 2015.On September 18, he passed away at the age of 87 at Base Hospital in New Delhi, exactly 61 years after he had shot down a Pakistani Sabre and then engaged another aircraft resulting in the enemy formation attacking Kalaikunda fleeing in confusion. He was then flying the Hunter.From Agra to the skiesCooke grew up in Agra during the Second World War and had developed an interest in flying after seeing aircraft like Hurricane, Spitfire and Mustangs operating around him. He was commissioned in December 1961 as part of the 80th Pilots Course, and served for just about seven years before leaving the Air Force in December 1968 and settling down in Australia.He often used to visit India and his old unit, No. 14 Squadron, the Bulls. It was raised in August 1951 on the Spitfire aircraft and converted to the Hunter in 1959, with which it went to war in 1965 and 1971. In 1979, it became the first squadron to be equipped with the Jaguar strike aircraft and moved to Ambala.“The enemy pilots were aggressive, but they had their limitations,” he said, while interacting with the media during one of his visits. “They went by the book and their tactics were very structured and indicative of US training, whereas our training methodology was different, enabling us to pre-empt some manoeuvre,” he said.Fast and furious combatCarrying out a combat air patrol with his wingman over Dum Dum and Kalaikunda in the east on September 7, 1965, he was directed to intercept an attack by six Sabres. He took on three, while his wingman took on the others.“Sabres could turn quicker, but our Hunters were more powerful and faster. The fight was fast and furious with a lot of manoeuvers and at times we were so close to each other that I could read the enemy pilot’s name stenciled on the back of his helmet and so low that my wingtip brushed the shrubs,” he had then told The Tribune.The aerial combat had lasted about 10 minutes, which to Cooke had then seemed like a lifetime. “I had fought on an empty stomach. When I took off for the first sortie, the breakfast van hadn’t arrived. On landing, I was told that the van had come and gone back, but no one remembered to save any food for me. So I grabbed a packet of biscuits before getting airborne again,” he recalled.A landing on the last drop of fuelAmong other anecdotes that he had shared was a sergeant, on seeing a bent fin with pieces of shrubbery sticking to it, had threatened to report him to the commanding officer for flying too low, while another airman pointed to the black residue on the airframe and accused him of firing his guns. “On landing, I was still taxing on the runway when the engine cut out as the last drop of fuel was expended. That’s how close it was,” he said.’Exceptional skill’: Vir Chakra citationThere are some serving and retired officers who believe that given his actions, Cooke should have been given a higher gallantry award. The citation for his Vir Chakra reads, “On the 7th September, 1965, when Kalaikunda airfield was under attack by 6 Pakistani Sabre jet aircraft Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke, who was leading two of our aircraft on combat air patrol, immediately led the aircraft to intercept them.Although our own anti-aircraft guns had already started to fire, he had engaged two of the enemy aircraft in complete disregard of his personal safety. The enemy aircraft tried evasive and counter-offensive manoeuvres, but with firm determination and exceptional skill Flight Lieutenant Cooke outmanoeuvred the enemy and pressed home his attack and shot down one of the enemy aircraft which disintegrated in mid air.Subsequently, he skillfully put his aircraft in a favourable position behind another enemy aircraft, but by then he had no ammunition left. However, he kept the enemy on the run and the remaining enemy aircraft fled in confusion. In this action Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke displayed great courage, leadership and devotion to duty in the best traditions of the Indian Air Force.”